June 2011

Chancellor Matthew Goldstein decided to delay a vote on a proposal for extensive amendments to the Bylaws of the CUNY Board of Trustees, following an outpouring of opposition from PSC members. The proposed bylaw changes would undermine the rights of CUNY faculty and staff in dozens of ways, both large and small.

CUNY central administration’s plan to overhaul general education requirements has sparked months of debate, and this spring 80th Street promised that a revised proposal would reflect concerns raised in faculty discussion. But when CUNY released a revised version of the General Education initiative in mid-May, faculty governance leaders expressed bitter disappointment.

Finding the time for union action in an already busy schedule is difficult. But PSC members have responded to the challenge in many different ways during this past semester. Here are some of their stories.

On May 2, when the CUNY Board of Trustees blocked John Jay College from awarding playwright Tony Kushner an honorary degree, they seemed surprised that their action drew such intense and widespread protest. They should not have been.